Melvyn R. Leventhal
Attorney At Law

488 Madison Avenue
22 nd Floor
New York, New York 10022
Phone: 212 935 0800
Email: mel@mleventhal.com
Education:
New York University School of Law, J.D. and New York University, B.A.
 
Bar Admissions:
New York, District of Columbia and Mississippi.
 
1984 - 2000:
Founded and served as Managing Partner of a boutique litigation law firm – three partners and 7 associates – in New York City.
 
1994- Present:
Concentration in Art Law.
  • Primarily representation of art galleries, dealers, artists and collectors located in New York, London and Geneva relating to their business matters and to artwork transactions generally valued between $250,000 and $50 million: 
  • Negotiating and drafting contracts for the sale or purchase of artworks on behalf of art dealers and collectors.
  • Arranging for appraisals, negotiating terms and drafting contracts on behalf of dealers and collectors for the consignment of their artworks to Christie’s and Sotheby’s.  For example, during the period July - November 2013, advised executors of a major collector’s estate on the terms and conditions of the contract governing the consignment of $150 million of art to  Christie’s and Sotheby’s auctions of 2013 and 2014.
 
Litigation relating to artworks.
For example:
  • A successful litigation against Sotheby’s and its consignor brought on behalf of a client-collector to prevent the sale of and to recover an artwork that had been stolen from the client.
  • A successful litigation on behalf of a collector who had purchased an artwork that had been secretly restored and then sold to him as in pristine condition.
  • The successful defense of dealers and collectors against claims that artworks they sold were not authentic or that good title had not been conveyed.
  • The successful defense of a dealer against a claim that he was not the authorized agent of a collector and therefore not authorized to sell the collector’s $5 million painting.    
Overview of
Litigation Practice:
Twice briefed, argued and won cases in The Supreme Court of the United States.
  • Countless successful litigations in federal and state trial and appellate courts in New York, other states and D.C.
  • Tried to verdict approximately 15 cases and won multimillion dollar judgments; litigated approximately 50 additional cases to settlement.
  • Deputy First Assistant Attorney General of New York and Chief of Litigation Bureau supervising teams of attorneys litigating hundreds of cases in state and federal courts.
  • Staff Attorney in Mississippi and New York, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. [President Obama has described LDF as “simply the best civil rights law firm in American History.”] 
 
References:
Dealers and collectors in New York, California, London and Geneva.